The Pawnshop (1916)

Charlie competes with his fellow shop assistant. He is fired by the pawnbroker and rehired. He nearly destroys everything in the shop and himself. He helps capture a burglar. He destroys a client's clock while examining it in detail.

Director:

Charles Chaplin

Writer:

Charles Chaplin

Stars:

Charles Chaplin, Henry Bergman, Edna Purviance

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Charles Chaplin	...	Pawnbroker's assistant
Henry Bergman	...	Pawnbroker
Edna Purviance	...	His daughter
John Rand	...	Other assistant
Albert Austin	...	Client with clock
Eric Campbell	...	Crook
James T. Kelley	...	Old bum (as James T Kelley)
Frank J. Coleman	...	Policeman

Storyline

Charlie, the not-so-punctual and dependable pawnbroker's assistant, starts his day with his usual duties at the pawnshop--a bit of dusting; some polishing up, and above all, a lot of quarrelling with his co-worker. Before long, a customer arrives--what a fabulous opportunity for Charlie to exhibit his subtle technical skills, and to give his critical scientific evaluation with the use of a rusty can-opener. Then, another client comes, eager to see the diamonds; however, could he be a wolf in sheep's clothing?

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Plot Keywords:

kicked in the butt | slapstick comedy | shop assistant | hit in the face | hit in the head | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 October 1916 (USA)

Also Known As:

At the Sign of the Dollar

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lone Star Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 24 min (restored)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

During an early scene, attention is drawn to the calendar on the pawnshop wall, which displays a date of Thursday, March 16. March 16 fell on a Thursday in 1916 - the year this movie was made - and it is entirely possible that the scene in question was filmed on the actual date.

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Alternate Versions

Kino International distributes a set of videos containing all the 12 Mutual short films made by Chaplin in 1915 - 1917. They are presented by David Shepard, who copyrighted the versions in 1984, and has a music soundtrack composed and performed by Michael Mortilla who copyrighted his score in 1989. The running time of this film is 25 minutes.

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Connections

Featured in Hollywood and the Stars: The Funny Men: Part 1 (1963)

User Reviews

One of his finest

I've seen about 15 early shorts by Chaplin so far and this is definately in the top 5. Charlie works at a pawnshop and has to deal with several customers, his boss and ultimately a thief. But, once again, he saves the day.

Great slapstick early on with the 'ladder-scene' and later on with what seems to be a cello or contra-bass (I know nothing of those sort of things), hitting people in the face. There's also a very funny scene with an alarm-clock, which Charlie 'fixes', but not quite!

Although probably not up there with The Adventurer (my favorite short so far) or The Tramp, this is pretty funny stuff, even by Chaplins standards. Final score: 8/10.